The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting contest in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. Since the inaugural derby in 1985, the event has seen several rule changes, evolving from a short outs-based competition, to multiple rounds, and eventually a bracket-style timed event.

The event has grown significantly from its roots in the 1980s, when it was not televised. Prior to 1991, the Home Run Derby was structured as a two-inning event with each player receiving five outs per inning, allowing for the possibility of ties. It is now one of the most-watched events broadcast on ESPN.[1][2][3]

In 2000, a "match play"-style format was instituted for the second round. The player with the most home runs in the first round faced the player with the least among the four qualifying players, as did the players with the second- and third-most totals. The contestant who won each matchup advanced to the finals. This format was discontinued after the 2003 competition.

The field of players selected currently consists of four American League players and four National League players. The first Derby in 1985 featured five from each league, and the 1986 and 1987 events featured three and two players from each league, respectively. In 1996, the field was again expanded to ten players, five from each league (though in 1997, the AL had six contestants to the NL's four).

In 2000, the field reverted to the current four-player-per-league format. The only exception was 2005, when Major League Baseball changed the selection criteria with eight players representing their home countries rather than their respective leagues. The change was believed to be in promotion of the inaugural World Baseball Classic, played in March 2006.[citation needed] In 2006, the selection of four players from each league resumed. In 2011, the format was revised so that team captains selected the individual sides.[citation needed]

Some notable performances in the Derby include Bobby Abreu in 2005, who won the Derby with a then-record 41 homers, including a then-record 24 in the first round. The first-round record was broken in 2008 by Josh Hamilton, who hit 28 home runs. Though Hamilton's performance was notable for the length of his home runs,[citation needed] he ultimately lost to Justin Morneau in a brief final round. The overall record was broken in 2016 by Giancarlo Stanton, who finished with a total of 61 home runs, defeating Todd Frazier in the final round. Only two participants, Yoenis Céspedes and Giancarlo Stanton, have won the Home Run Derby without being selected to the All-Star game itself.[4]

In the early years of the Home Run Derby, 4-10 players from both the AL and NL were selected to participate. Each player was given 2 "innings" to hit as many home runs as possible before reaching 5 outs. For the derby, an out is defined as any swing that is not a home run. The winner of the contest was the player with the most total home runs in the two innings.

Beginning in 1991, the format changed to a 3-round contest. From 1991–2006, 8-10 players were selected and hit as many home runs as possible before reaching 10 outs in each round. The tally reset for each round, with the top four advancing to the second round, and the top two advancing to the final.

In honor of the World Baseball Classic, the 2005 contest featured eight players from different countries. The format remained the same.

The format changed slightly in 2006. Instead of the tally resetting for each round, it was only reset before the final round. Therefore, the players with the four highest totals after Round 1 advanced to Round 2, and the players with the two highest sum of Round 1 and 2 advanced to the finals.

The Home Run Derby format was changed significantly in 2014, as MLB sought to speed-up the contest and increase the drama. In the new bracket format, five players from each league faced the other players in their league in Round 1, with each players having seven "outs." The player in each league with the highest Round 1 total received a second-round bye, and the players with the second- and third-highest Round 1 totals from each league faced off. The Round 2 winner from each league faced the Round 1 winner, and the Round 3 winner crowned the league winner. The final featured the winner of each league. Each round stands alone, with the score reset for each round.[5] Ties in any round are broken by a 3-swing swing-off. If the players remain tied, the players engage in a sudden-death swing-off until one player homers.[6]

The format was changed once again in 2015. The most significant change was the elimination of "outs", which was replaced by a time limit. Eight players are seeded based on their season home run totals and are given five minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. The winner of each head-to-head matchup advances, until a final winner is determined. If a tie occurs in any match-up, three sets of tiebreakers are employed: first, a 90-second swing-off decides the winner; second, best-of-3-swing swing-off; thereafter, sudden-death swingoffs until a winner is determined. Further, a player can get "bonus time" in the last minute of each round. During that time, the clock stops for each home run, and doesn't restart until a swing does not result in a home run. Additional bonus time could be earned for distance. Players who hit at least two home runs measuring at least 420 feet (128.0 m) are given an extra minute of bonus time. An additional 30 seconds of bonus time is granted if at least one home run measures over 475 feet (144.8 m).[7]

Weather concerns in 2015 lead to a reduction in time from five minutes per round to four minutes. The clock was not stopped in the final minute, and bonus time was only granted for hitting two home runs of over 425 feet (129.5 m).[8]

The format was tweaked slightly in 2016. The four-minute round length returned, while the minute of bonus time was changed to 30 seconds and required two home runs of 440 feet (134.1 m) or longer. The additional time was removed, while the swing-off (which was not required) was reduced to one minute.[9] Each batter is allowed one time-out during each round, and two in the finals.

From 2005–2013, a gold ball has been used once a player reaches nine outs (in 2014 when the T-Mobile Ball came into play, six; since 2015, during the final minute). If a batter hit a home run using the golden ball, Century 21 Real Estate and Major League Baseball would donate $21,000 (a reference to the "21" in "Century 21") per home run to charity (MLB donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Century 21 donated to Easter Seals). In both 2005 and 2006, $294,000 was raised for the charities, equaling fourteen golden ball home runs per year. State Farm continued this in 2007 as they designated $17,000 per home run (one dollar for each of State Farm's agencies), to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. In the 2007 event, fifteen golden balls were hit for a donation of $255,000, and ten ($170,000) were hit in the 2008 event. For 2009, State Farm added $5,000 for all non-Gold Ball homers, and $517,000 was collected. For 2010, the non-Gold Ball homer was reduced to $3,000 per home run and a total of $453,000 was collected. Since 2014 any homer hit off a T-Mobile Ball resulted in a $10,000 donation to charity by T-Mobile and MLB, to Team Rubicon.

The derby was first nationally televised by ESPN in 1993 on a same-day delayed basis,[11] with the first live telecast in 1998. Although two hours are scheduled in programming listings for the telecast, it has rarely ever been contained to the timeslot and consistently runs three to four hours. Chris Berman has gained notoriety for his annual hosting duties on ESPN, including his catchphrase, "Back back back…Gone!". Berman starts this phrase when the ball is hit, and does not say "Gone!" until the ball lands.

The 2008 Derby was the year's most highly rated basic cable program.[12]

Because of the game's TV popularity, invited players have felt pressure to participate. Notably, Ken Griffey Jr. initially quietly declined to take part in 1998, partly due to ESPN scheduling the Mariners in their late Sunday game the night before. After a discussion with ESPN's Joe Morgan and another with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Griffey changed his mind, and then won the Derby at Coors Field.[13]